Jury finds Vallejo woman guilty of first-degree murder

A jury on Friday convicted a Vallejo woman of first-degree murder for aiding and abetting her former boyfriend in the 2007 methamphetamine-fueled "thrill kill" of a Dixon woman walking her dog.

The jury also convicted Paige Linville, 29, of conspiracy to murder the woman, 41-year-old Christina Baxley.

Linville faces 50 years to life at her sentencing, scheduled for April 11.

The jury announced it also split 6 to 6 on another murder charge concerning the shooting death of 34-year-old Amber Lee Chappell, a Vallejo transient. Prosecutors did not say if they will seek another trial on the undecided count.

Following a seven-week trial, the jury deliberated for two days before delivering the verdicts in Solano Superior Court Judge Allan Carter's Vallejo courtroom.

Linville was visibly distraught as she heard the verdicts. Defense attorney Amy Morton immediately said she will seek a new trial on grounds that jurors should have been instructed to consider evidence of voluntary intoxication and mental disorder in deciding whether Linville intended to aid and abet in Baxley's killing.

The jury also acquitted Linville of the enhancement of personally using a firearm to shoot Baxley.

Linville and her then-boyfriend, Mario Moreno, 32, were arrested after the Nov. 16, 2007 fatal shootings of Chappell and Baxley.

Chappell was found shot to death in rural Cordelia in the early morning hours. Baxley, a single mother, was gunned down walking her dog near her apartment during her lunch break.

Linville initially pleaded no contest to charges of being an accessory after the fact as well as possession of methamphetamine.

Moreno was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

However, things changed in April 2010, when Linville -- who had already been released from prison -- was re-arrested and charged with two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy.

Moreno, meanwhile, agreed to plead guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter in exchange for testifying against Linville. He's likely to face a minimum of 20 years in prison.

Prosecutor Krishna Abrams argued that Linville and Moreno conspired to kill both women for the thrill of it while on a methamphetamine binge.

The defense, however, claimed that Moreno masterminded the killings and that a traumatized and terrified Linville was just along for the ride. She argued that Linville suffered from post-traumatic stress stemming from an unreported childhood rape that caused her client to spiral down into a world of drugs and abusive relationships with dangerous men.